All eyes on these Miami Dolphins as training camp opens

DAVIE — As he approaches his second training camp as Miami Dolphins coach, Adam Gase intends to make an important change.

Gase intends to treat each practice, beginning Thursday morning, as an opportunity to execute game-plan specific strategies, as opposed to just an installation of plays.

It’s something Gase focused on in the spring, and the players really responded well to the increased competition between the offense and defense.

“When you start making all these adjustments and you’re talking a lot of football, guys are engaged with all the kind of stuff,” Gase said this week. “When it becomes that same old talk every day and you’re talking about the exact same thing, that’s when it gets tough on guys. The fact that we keep moving situations around and trying to change it up and giving different looks on both sides, guys enjoy that and they get engaged.”

With that in mind, here are the players Gase and fans and media in attendance will be most intensely focused on throughout training camp:

• Ryan Tannehill — Gase has warned us not to ask Tannehill how his knee is feeling. His knee is feeling just fine, Gase said. He’s throwing and running just fine, Gase said. And, to be fair, Tannehill has echoed the sentiments. That said, we’ll all be watching…

• Mike Pouncey – Cleared by doctors to participate in football activities, Pouncey is chomping at the bit to return from his hip issues. But the Dolphins will hold him back. Perhaps he’ll do some side work or individual work over the next two weeks. But when Pouncey ramps things up, still expect plenty of down time and even off days.

• Julius Thomas — Will the real Julius Thomas please stand up? Will we see shades of the Pro Bowler Gase is familar with from Denver Broncos days? Or will we see the guy who was a shell of himself in Jacksonville? This is a critical training camp for Thomas. He wants to show he has in fact improved his blocking. And that Thomas can develop true chemistry with Tannehill.

• Charles Harris — Harris showed flashes of pass-rush greatness in the spring. But how will he look as the temperatures heat up and the practices get more physical? Harris vs. sophomore left tackle Laremy Tunsil should be a fantastic battle to watch throughout camp.

• Alterraun Verner — Who? Hey now, that’s not right. Verner may be Miami’s starting slot corner when the season starts. After all, he was once a Pro Bowler. After all, his competition is Bobby McCain and Michael Thomas. Of course, there’s no guarantee Verner even makes the roster. So much to learn.

• Raekwon McMillan — Miami’s second-round draft choice has an opportunity to start, especially now that Koa Misi has been placed on season-ending injured reserve. McMillan is a sound tackler and defensive coordinator Matt Burke says McMillan “doesn’t present like a rookie.” The Dolphins feel McMillan is bright and has a strong presence. The middle could be his to man as early as this season.

• Jakeem Grant — Is Grant going to allow the opportunity to be Miami’s dynamic return specialist slip away, or is he going to seize the moment? The diminutive Grant will be given every opportunity to stick because he’s slippery and combustible. But he must show he has improve his hands and his ball security. And he must show the team can trust him.

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About the Authors

Jason Lieser has covered sports in Chicago, New Orleans and now South Florida

Joe Schad is a sports reporter for The Palm Beach Post who covers the Miami Dolphins. He previous covered sports for ESPN, the Orlando Sentinel and Newsday.

After 19 years as a sports writer, copy editor and assistant sports editor at The Miami Herald, Hal Habib joined The Palm Beach Post's sports department in 1998. Areas of coverage range from the Olympics, Kentucky Derby and Super Bowl to local sports.